


When I'm Weary

by unsaltysaltines



Series: Come Tomorrow [1]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, I definitely wrote this instead of writing for adacemics, domestic GOO, pure mush, this if fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-13 23:30:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18041168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsaltysaltines/pseuds/unsaltysaltines
Summary: Nicole has been Sheriff for six months, and Waverly is starting to notice a pattern.or,Nicole is a workaholic and Waverly is a little concerned.





	When I'm Weary

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of a series of (UNRELATED!) one-shots based on Dave Matthews Band's latest album, _Come Tomorrow_. This is SUCH a weird, niche concept, but it's a rather mushy album and I love it. So there.
> 
> You can listen to the song on YouTube or Spotify or…wherever. I highly recommend it. For Soft purposes.

Nicole has been Sheriff for almost six months.

 

She’s not sure where that time has gone, nor is she sure of how exactly she’s managing to do this job.

 

Obviously, being Sheriff never seemed like an easy job, but Nicole’s starting to think that Randy Nedley might have been a superhero in hiding this entire time, because it turns out that for such a small town, Purgatory generates a _ton_ of paperwork.

 

It’s not just supernatural shenanigans, either. Quite frankly, Nicole is surprised to find that most of the incidents she has to deal with involve things that are decidedly _not_ supernatural in the slightest-- rowdy teenagers, public intoxication, and playing city politics seem to occupy the majority of her days, and soon enough she starts to find herself missing the demonic action.

 

Waverly and Wynonna still operate out of the back office, and they’re much better at keeping Nicole in the loop than they used to be, but Nicole can’t help but miss the action.

 

She reminds herself why she’s here, though, every time she finds herself jealous of whatever the Earp sisters are keeping at bay or tracking down. Whenever she’s able to de-escalate a situation without anyone getting hurt; every time one of her deputies does a favour for someone in the community; really any time she feels as though she’s come close to upholding Randy Nedley’s legacy, Nicole goes home feeling as though this is the job she was meant to be doing.

 

More often than she cares to admit, Nicole finds herself slipping out of bed late at night, while Waverly sleeps soundly beside her. There’s almost never a night where she leaves the office feeling as though she’s accomplished enough, so Nicole takes advantage of the late night hours to catch up on any work she’s behind on.

 

***

 

Nicole thinks she’s being sneaky when she slips out of bed late at night, but Waverly is no fool. She may sleep like a rock most nights, but she always wakes up when Nicole’s warmth suddenly disappears from the bed beside her.

 

It’s obvious that Nicole is giving her new job 110%, and Waverly is so proud of her fiancée.

 

But she can’t help but worry for Nicole’s mental health and sanity because, as she keeps reminding Nicole, everyone needs to sleep _some_ time. Even the Sheriff.

 

On the last bitterly cold night of the year, Waverly wakes up suddenly, shivering from head to toe at the sudden loss of warmth from beside her. She checks the time and sees that it’s two in the morning, and moments later she picks up on the sound of Nicole’s computer keyboard coming up the stairs from the kitchen.

 

Nicole doesn’t notice as Waverly descends the stairs, bundled up in one of Nicole’s sweatshirts. She has her headphones on, her back to the stairs as she’s stretched out on the couch, and Waverly can imagine the quiet folk music flowing through them. She loves a good classic rock riff or pop beat during the day, but once night falls she’s all about acoustic melodies and soft vocals.

 

It’s a side of Nicole that Waverly feels lucky to see. As Sheriff, Nicole has to be polished and professional, even more so than before. Whereas before, as a deputy, she was able to let her guard down on the job every now and then, Nicole almost never does so now.

 

“Baby?”

 

Nicole jumps and turns toward Waverly’s voice, her face softening as she realizes it’s just Waverly who’s interrupted her late-night work session.

 

“Hey.”

 

Nicole smiles, and in the light of her computer Waverly can see the shadow where the dimple in her cheek pops out.

 

“What are you working on? It’s so _late_.”

 

Waverly’s voice is soft. She rests her strong hands on Nicole’s shoulders and starts massaging gently. Nicole reaches up and covers one of Waverly’s hands with her own; as good as the massaging motion feels on the knots in her shoulders, threading her fingers through Waverly’s and simply _being_ feels even better.

 

“Are you okay?” Waverly asks. “This is the third night this week…”

 

Nicole feels a twinge of guilt as she realizes that she _has_ been disturbing Waverly when she slips out of bed late at night.

 

“I’m sorry, Waves, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

 

“Nicole, it’s _okay_ …” Waverly says, stressing the final syllable. She leans over to kiss the top of Nicole’s head, and Nicole just closes her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to get lost in the simplicity of the other woman’s embrace.

 

The embrace she had missed so desperately during those long months she was missing.

 

After a couple moments’ quiet, Waverly tugs gently on Nicole’s hand, wordlessly prompting her to close her laptop and follow the other woman back upstairs to bed.

 

***

 

A couple weeks later, Waverly lets herself into Nicole’s house late, after being on a stakeout with Wynonna almost all night. Shedding her jacket & boots, Waverly sighs, feeling some of the tension drop out of her shoulders as she steps over the threshold.

 

Waverly rubs an aching spot in her neck and heads up to bed, anxious to just curl up beside Nicole and fall asleep.

 

The scene awaiting Waverly when she opens the bedroom door makes her stop short.

 

Nicole must have fallen asleep in the middle of whatever it was she was doing. Her bedside light is still on, and she’s still sitting up with the covers folded back, the way she likes to relax before going to bed. Calamity Jane is curled up between Nicole’s feet, but stirs when she hears Waverly open the door.

 

Even though Calamity springs up from where she’s been curled up, Nicole is hardly bothered by the movement. She shifts slightly in her sleep, but doesn’t seem to wake up at all. Calamity winds herself around Waverly’s ankles, suddenly thirsty for attention, and Waverly grins at the entire scene as she scratches the displaced cat behind the ears.

 

“Hey girl,” Waverly whispers as she crouches down to say a proper hello. “Was your mom up late again?”

 

Calamity meows in response, then takes off into the hall, presumably looking for a better spot to sleep. Waverly quickly changes into shorts and one of Nicole’s old t-shirts and surveys her sleeping fiancée.

 

As gently as she can, Waverly moves Nicole’s hand from where it’s resting on her computer and closes the lid. Nicole’s face wrinkles in confusion as Waverly takes the laptop off her lap and sets it on the nightstand beside her.

 

“Mmmfh…Waves?” Nicole mumbles through a thick haze of sleep. She props herself up slightly on one elbow, squinting at the sudden influx of light from her lamp. “Wha’ time is it?”

 

“Too late.” Waverly kisses Nicole quickly. “Just go back to sleep.”

 

As Waverly reaches over to pull the blankets over Nicole, Nicole reaches up and wraps her arms around Waverly’s waist, pulling her down on top of her and drawing a small yelp of surprise from the smaller woman.

 

“ _Nicole!_ ” She exclaims. She positions herself on top of Nicole and finds herself looking down into warm brown eyes, still heavy with sleep, but full of love.

 

“I’ve missed you,” Nicole says quietly. “That’s all.” She reaches up and plays with a lock of Waverly’s hair, threading it loosely between her fingers and letting it fall back again.

 

“Baby, you can’t keep going like this…it’s just not healthy. _Plus_ ,” Waverly adds, “I’d like to take my _fiancée_ , the _Sheriff_ , out on a date without worrying she’s going to pass out halfway through dinner.”

 

Waverly grins as Nicole’s cheeks flush pink and she looks away sheepishly. She rolls off of Nicole and covers them both as Nicole reaches over to turn out the light. Nicole is quiet, and after a couple minutes Waverly wonders if she’s fallen back asleep.

 

“I don’t want to let them down.”

 

“Hm? Who?”

 

" _Anyone_.” Waverly feels Nicole take a deep breath, her chest rising and falling beside Waverly. “But _especially_ Nedley.”

 

“I know he left some pretty big shoes to fill…even for your giant feet.”

 

Nicole laughs, which releases some of the anxiety she’s been carrying in her chest. “I guess I feel like I haven’t proven myself yet.”

 

“I get that.” Waverly says. She finds Nicole’s lips in the dark for a long, slow kiss as she thinks through how to best comfort Nicole. “I get how you’re feeling, but…”

 

“ _But…_ ”

 

“But you don’t see yourself the way everyone else does, Nicole. And I don’t mean just Wynonna and me, either. Your deputies respect you. People in Purgatory _listen_ to you. You’ve even somehow managed to get _Wynonna_ to chill out. You deserve this job, and you can’t keep running yourself ragged like this.”

 

“I know,” Nicole sighs. “I really love you, you know that?” She pulls Waverly closer to her, and feels the other woman mold herself to her body like they were made for each other.

 

“I love you too,” Waverly says sleepily. “And I meant it about that date. I am gonna show you…the _best_ time…” Waverly’s words are interrupted by a huge yawn, and Nicole laughs.

 

That night, Nicole sleeps better than she has in weeks.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks once again to [Blankagenda](twitter.com/blankagenda) for giving this fluff a good once-over!
> 
> Heads up, this series has zero timeline or rhyme or reason so…we'll see what the next installment of fluff brings I guess?
> 
> Come yell with/at me on [Twitter](twitter.com/unsaltysaltines)!


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